What is 'cartilage wear and tear'?

What is 'cartilage wear and tear'?

Gary Brazina (Sports Medicine Physician) gives expert video advice on: What is 'acute compartment syndrome'?; What is 'chronic compartment syndrome'?; What is 'tendinitis'? and more...

Cartilage wear and tear, by definition, is arthritis. Every joint is covered on its surface by articular cartilage. Articular cartilage is a smooth glistening surface that allows for gliding, much like a brand new teflon pan. As your pan wears and you've used a metal spatula on it, it gets bubbled and fissured and worn. That is what cartilage wear and tear is. It's a fissuring, breaking and wearing of the articular surface, that by definition is arthritis.